Judge cites father's 'callous' 911 call; orders murder trial

Seth Welch reacts while listening to his 911 call during his probable-cause hearing at 63rd District Court in Grand Rapids on Wednesday, Oct. 10, 2018. Welch and Tatiana Fusari were charged Monday with felony murder and first-degree child abuse after their daughter, Mary, was found unresponsive in their Solon Township home. An autopsy determined the cause of death as malnutrition and dehydration due to neglect by adult caregivers.Cory Morse | MLive.com / AP

GRAND RAPIDS, Mich. — A judge has ordered two Michigan parents to stand trial for murder in the death of their malnourished 10-month-old daughter, citing the “callousness” of the father’s 911 call in which he referred to the child as “dead as a door knob.”

Seth Welch and Tatiana Fusari were charged in August with murder and first-degree child abuse after their daughter, Mary, was found unresponsive in their Solon Township home. An autopsy found she died of malnutrition and dehydration due to neglect. Mary weighed only 8 pounds (3.63 kilograms).

“She looked like a hundred-year-old baby. All skin and bones,” said Assistant Prosecutor Kim Richardson.

“The skeletal-like posture of the child, in my opinion, speaks volumes, for how long the baby was not cared for properly,” Smolenski said.

Smolenski said she was struck by Welch’s statement to a dispatcher where he describes Mary as “dead as a door knob.” Welch also informed the dispatcher that he’d called his attorney about 90 minutes prior to calling 911 because he was unsure of what to do.

Defence lawyers argued that the parents thought their child was skinny, but not sickly and didn’t intentionally or knowingly cause harm.

“They were breastfeeding the child,” said defence attorney Lesley Kranenberg. “These two young people are not nutritionists. They are not dietitians.”

Kranenberg said there were empty baby food jars in the house, which shows that the parents were feeding the child. She said the medical examiner jumped to conclusions on the cause of death.

Smolenski said the damage was obvious and that the girl’s death “is as horrific as it gets.”

“I want to reiterate the fact that the baby did not die because of one missed meal. This is weeks and weeks,” Smolenski said. “This isn’t about being very skinny, this is about being dead.”

Will it be a hot war with protest and acrimony, like Uber vs. taxis? Or is the outcome inevitably foretold, no matter what, as in Netflix vs. Blockbuster?

This Week's Flyers

Comments

Postmedia is pleased to bring you a new commenting experience. We are committed to maintaining a lively but civil forum for discussion and encourage all readers to share their views on our articles. We ask you to keep your comments relevant and respectful. Visit our community guidelines for more information.